Early iPad 2 benchmarks: CPU performance remains mostly unchanged

Early benchmarks suggest the iPad 2's general performance won't be a huge leap …

Early benchmarks reveal that Apple's new dual-core A5 mobile processor may not offer a significantly faster overall experience, at least when it comes to common Web tasks. CNET UK was able to run some JavaScript benchmarks on the iPad 2, and found that original iPad users won't be missing out on much compared to their iPad 2-touting friends, at least as far as Web-browsing performance is concerned.

Before the device's launch, Apple was rumored to be building an improved processor for the iPad 2, dubbed the A5. It was suspected that the A5 would be a two-core design based on ARM's Cortex A9 to be used in many tablets set to launch this year. It was also believed to include an updated graphics processing core capable of improved 3D and video performance.

During last week's media event, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced that the A5 would indeed be a dual-core 1GHz design, allegedly capable of twice the raw compute performance of the A4 processor used in the original iPad as well as the iPhone 4 and fourth-gen iPod touch. The updated graphics core offered an even bigger boost—nine times the performance of the A4. And it could do all that while using the same amount of power of the A4.

We think the A5 is likely not built around Cortex A9 cores, but instead probably uses two the same custom low-power A8 cores used in the A4. If Apple had indeed used two Cortex A9-based cores, raw performance should be more than double that of a single core A8-based design.

This seems to be supported by the SunSpider JavaScript benchmarks run by CNET. Comparing the performance of an iPad 2 and an original iPad running the golden master build of iOS 4.3 released to developers last week, the iPad 2 only performed 1.5 times as fast. That's good news for original iPad users—sticking with that hardware you have now won't leave you with a significant performance disadvantage for general Web use.

CNET's results also suggests that iOS 4.3 could give all compatible iOS devices an extra bit of overall zippiness. An original iPad 2 running iOS 4.2 ran about 2.5x slower than the same device running iOS 4.3.

You can expect higher-performance graphics software to be built as developers get access to the iPad 2 and start experimenting with the A5's significant additional graphics resources. The stated 9x performance boost suggests that not only does the A5 contain an improved graphics core, but it likely has more than one.

Developers will also begin to code iOS apps to take advantage of both CPU cores in the A5—if they haven't already. On the whole, however, trading up to a new iPad won't likely translate to an instantly faster experience to end users for many tasks.

You can be sure we'll perform our usual thorough benchmarking as soon as we can get our hands on shipping hardware this Friday, and we will compare it to the original iPad as well.

In related news, the iPad 2 will also come in two 3G-equipped flavors—one with GSM/HSPA compatible with AT&T (and most carriers around the globe) and CDMA compatible with Verizon. We detailed the new postpaid option that AT&T is adding, which will allow users to consolidate iPad data plan charges on their existing wireless bill, but the plans remain largely unchanged from last year. Verizon will also carry over the same iPad-specific MiFi data plans from its current iPad + MiFi promotion to the CDMA-equipped iPad 2.

AT&T's plans can offer a bit of a savings for those that have light mobile data needs, though the lowest pricing tier in particular has a fairly minuscule data allotment. If you expect to do much video streaming, photo transfer, or other heavy data use away from home or other reliable WiFi, Verizon's plans offer a much better value. However, if you were lucky enough to sign up for (and consistently maintain) the $29.99 unlimited data plan AT&T offered for barely a month, you'll be able to pass that plan to your new iPad 2.

Carrier (US)

Plan price

Data allotment

Cost per GB

Overage costs

AT&T

$14.99

250MB

$59.96

$14.99/250MB

$25

2GB

$12.50

$25/2GB ($10/1GB postpaid)

Verizon

$20

1GB

$20

$20/1GB

$35

3GB

$11.67

$10/1GB

$50

5GB

$10

$10/1GB

$80

10GB

$8

$10/1GB

The Verizon plans do come with an important caveat—unlike using a MiFi (or smartphone equipped with a mobile hotspot feature), you won't be able to share that data allotment with other devices. On the other hand, you won't have to carry around and charge a separate device to use 3G data with an iPad 2. 3G-equipped models also have built-in GPS hardware, unlike the WiFi-only iPads.